Residents to get aid for home elevation

Christie announces grants, Rt. 35 work

Feb. 20, 2013

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks during a news conference Tuesday at the Lavallette firehouse with Transportation Commissioner James Simpson. The governor outlined plans for the rebuilding of Route 35 on the barrier island. LAVALLETTE, NJ 2/19/13 CHRISTIE0219A WITH VIDEO ASBURY PARK PRESS PHOTO BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO

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If you don’t have the money to raise or rebuild your Sandy-damaged home, don’t worry: Gov. Chris Christie said the government will give you grants to help you fund some of the repairs.

“We’ll give you a grant to elevate your home. Even if your home hasn’t been damaged, we’ll give you a grant for a substantial amount of the cost to do that elevation,” Christie told a packed house at a Lavallette firehouse on Tuesday. “It doesn’t mean we won’t continue to push FEMA for relief from the flood maps, but if you wait 18 to 24 months to rebuild, no one will come back to the Jersey Shore.”

Christie’s visit to the barrier island, which was devastated in the wake of the storm, was billed as an announcement that heavily damaged Route 35 will be rebuilt. But it was Christie’s announcement of two grant programs that stole the show. See two videos of Christie’s announcements above. On our iPhone or Android app? Watch them here and here.

Christie said the two recovery programs, designed to aid homeowners who need to elevate their homes, and businesses that are looking to reopen, will be funded using the “overwhelming part of the $1.8 billion” in block grant money that the state has received from the federal government.

Unlike loans, grants do not have to be repaid to the government.

One of the grant programs will assist homeowners in bridging the gap between their insurance claims and the cost to rebuild their primary residence, which includes the cost to elevate the house. The second is dedicated to helping storm-damaged businesses reopen. Christie said he expects those federally funded programs to start at the end of March or early April.

The application process has not been set up yet, but will be advertised when it’s finalized, officials said.

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'Encouraging' news

Both announcements were welcomed by residents, who said Christie told them what they wanted to hear about the highway project and the rebuilding grants.

Melissa Nelson of Seaside Heights said she took a double whammy from Sandy, being displaced from her home and her job at a Point Pleasant restaurant.

“We have a two-family house. We and our tenants are out of the house,” she said, calling Christie’s grant announcement encouraging. “I know we’ll have the money to raise it.”

“It was definitely encouraging,” said Jill Holzenhaler of Lavallette about Christie’s announcement. “I wasn’t as affected as my friends. It’s great there will be ways for them to get funds to stay in the area and live the life we love.”

The grant program will allow people to “stay where they want to be,” Holzenthaler said, referring to the concern that some residents who can’t afford to elevate their homes to comply with proposed FEMA recommendations and flood maps would be forced to sell and move.

At the end of the event, Christie reiterated the importance to him of restoring the Shore.

“We’ll absolutely be back, there will be moments of frustration,” he said. “Nothing is more important to me over the next year, not re-election or anything else.”

Christie told residents not to delay rebuilding until the final FEMA flood maps are issued in 18 to 24 months, warning them that rules requiring some kind of elevation will happen one way or another.

“I’m fighting against these maps, but you shouldn’t be sitting around waiting for a miracle to happen,” he warned. “Our choice is, do we sit around for 18 to 24 months and watch our homes rot away or do we build to the higher standard?”

Homeowners will see a payback if they elevate by having a safer house to withstand future storms and see a savings in flood insurance when premiums are brought to market rates for an unelevated home, which could be $25,000 to $30,000, he said. That price was met with some audible gasps.

That news answered some of the questions that Clem Boyer of Lavallette had. The first floor of the homes on either side of him were destroyed by the storm, but his was not.

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“I thought I’d have to have major damage to elevate the house,” Boyer said. “It’s my primary residence and I’m hearing that I’ll get funds to raise it.”

Route 35 work

Boyer said he’s in total agreement with the governor to get the rebuilding done and he said the Route 35 project also is needed.

“If we get a heavy rain, you can take a boat down 35. We need better drainage,” Boyer said. “I think they’ll do it right.”

The $215 million Route 35 reconstruction program will completely rebuild and upgrade a 12-mile section between Bay Head and the entrance to Island Beach State Park, Christie said.

State Department of Transportation officials will put the first of three highway construction contracts out to bid next month, with construction starting this summer. The DOT plans to divide the project into three geographic sections, with contracts for the other two sections advertised for bids by July.

Nelson of Seaside Heights said she was glad to hear of the Route 35 rebuilding project because of the highway’s importance to the barrier islands.

The Route 35 roadway will be rebuilt from Point Pleasant Beach to Berkeley and a new and improved drainage system with pump stations will be installed. The project includes features for pedestrians and bicyclists to travel safely. Utility companies will be installing new underground water, sewer, natural gas and communication lines as well.

“We’ll always have one lane in each direction during this project, our goal is to substantially complete it before the start of the 2015 summer season,” said James Simpson, state transportation commissioner.

The project also will seek to minimize the impact on businesses, Christie said. He said it wouldn’t be possible to suspend work during the summer season.

“This is not just a reconstruction project. We won’t go back to where we were, but use the federal funds we get from Congress to make our state better and this new road will be better and more durable in every way,” Christie said.